Red Hat Isn't Alone at the Linux Management Table

Joining the League of Enterprise Management Systems

February 3, 2003

By
Jacqueline Emigh

Red Hat made a big splash at LinuxWorld Expo by rolling out a new product
and future roadmap for systems management. Meanwhile, with Linux
making more enterprise inroads, Computer Associates (CA), IBM, SuSE,
SCO, and many other players also showed off Linux-enabled management
wares.

The first two components of Red Hat's "enterprise systems management
framework" are a software delivery and maintenance module, already
part of Red Hat Advanced Server, and a systems management module, just
released as Red Hat Command Center.

Red Hat will add more modules to the framework in the future, said
John Santinelli, director of product management, during a press
conference at LinuxWorld. Possibilities under consideration include
user management, provisioning, and profile management, Santinelli
acknowledged in an interview.

Acquired last fall from NOCpulse, and then integrated with Advanced
Server's Red Hat Network (RHN), Command Center runs only on Red Hat
Linux. However, the product also manages servers and devices running
on all other Linux distributions, Microsoft 2000/NT, Sun Solaris,
HP-UX, IBM AIX, and FreeBSD.

On the other hand, the existing distribution/management module in
Advanced Server works with Red Hat servers only, Santinelli said.

Likewise, the competing YaST systems management and maintenance tool
supports SuSE and UnitedLinux distributions only, said Holger Dyroff,
SuSE Linux's director of sales for North America. The UnitedLinux
consortium--which includes SCO, Turbolinux, and Conectiva, along with
SuSE--has adopted YaST from SuSE, its initial developer.

SuSE's YaST2 was one of seven finalists in the Systems Administration
category of the LinuxWorld Open Source Product Excellence
Awards. Volution Manager, a multiplatform management product from SCO,
won the category.

Red Hat's new Command Center is available as either as a Red Hat-hosted
service or as a server software product, run by customers in
"satellite mode."

The product also enables management of system applications and
third-party devices such as Cisco routers. Red Hat's "multitenant back
end" will accommodate WebSphere, BEA, and database plug-ins, for
example.

Instead of agents, which sit on client devices, Command Center uses
sensors known as Local Scouts and Remote Scouts.

Sitel Corporation is already using Red Hat Advanced Server for
software distribution and management, with plans to deploy Command
Center in satellite and proxy mode during Q2, said Scott D. Clark,
Sitel's director of systems engineering.

Previously, Sitel underwent a "failed Tivoli deployment," as well as
less than postive experiences with Microsoft's Systems Management
Server (SMS). With Tivoli, set up time for customers took up to 30
days, according to Clark.

"We've had a lot of problems with SMS, and it's very expensive," Clark
maintained. Using Advanced Server's built-in software
distribution/maintenance module, Clark finds it easier to install
patches and errata.

OpSource, a service provider launched last June, has already used both
RHN and Command Center. Prior to starting OpSource, the company
founders had "a fair amount of experience (with) systems management
products," said John Rowell, VP of engineering and operations. "We'd
been burned."

Before deciding on Red Hat's approach, OpSource looked at other tools,
including Macromuse's Netcool. Red Hat's management software, though,
is "fun to use and lower in cost." Rowell also likes its smaller
footprint. "It transfers its data in a secure manner," he contended.